Thesis (M.Ed.)--Wichita State University, College of Education, Dept. of Counseling, Educational and School Psychology

en_US

dc.description.abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the epistemological beliefs of Native Americans in order to gain a better understanding of their beliefs about the nature of knowledge and learning. Fifteen adults were interviewed to obtain information related to their beliefs about the source, justification, stability, and structure of knowledge as well as their beliefs about the speed of learning, ability to learn, and their degree of trust in authority. Results confirmed that women attributed a larger percentage of the ability to learn from inborn characteristics, while men attributed a larger percentage of the ability to learn from learning how to learn. The results also confirmed that older participants were more likely to believe that the average person learns moderately fast, participants that disliked math were more likely to believe that the average person learns moderately fast, and participants that liked math were more likely to believe that the average person learns fast.